"Appalling ShamefulHorrific
England Shambles" - that was how Britain's biggest-selling Sunday
paper spelt out its view of the performance which has put England
all but out of the Ashes series.

Skipper Andrew Flintoff is likely to be the first casualty of
the slump, theNews of the World
added, predicting that Michael Vaughan, under whose leadership
England regained the urn last year, would return for next month's
one-day series.

"I can't tell you how sombre a place our dressing room is at the
moment," wrote batsman Kevin Pietersen in his column for the same
paper.

"It still hurts to be going down to the Aussies like this. I'm
feeling pretty low right now ... we are not giving the Aussies a
fight at the moment."

As well as feeling downhearted about their performance, players
had also been hit by the news that spinner Ashley Giles was flying
home to be with his wife, who was diagnosed with a brain
tumour.

"It was a horrible moment when he told me. I felt ill,"
Pietersen wrote.

Many papers point the finger of blame for England's display at
coach Duncan Fletcher - the Sunday Times headlined its
double page spread: "High Price For Fletcher Folly".

The Zimbabwean has faced criticism for selections including
leaving spinner Monty Panesar, a star performer at the WACA, out of
the first two Tests in favour of Giles.

This decision was included in a list of "ten ways in which
England got it wrong" compiled by the paper.

Fletcher also faced flak from the Sunday Express, which
noted that "this England is very much the coach's team, moulded and
prepared the way he sees fit".

He is now "in dire straits" and at the "mercy of critics", the
paper added.

1166290405338-smh.com.auhttp://www.smh.com.au/news/news/english-papers-go-in-for-the-kill/2006/12/17/1166290405338.htmlsmh.com.auAFP2006-12-17English papers go in for the killAshesTour0607NewsASHEShttp://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/12/15/duncanfletcher_narrowweb__300x428,0.jpg

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